Week 19 Defending Love
“The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself.”
Saint Augustine
Today’s Passage
14But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled,
15but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
16and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.
17For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
1 Peter 3:14–17 (NASB95)
Background
Quotes are summarized from Wikipedia. Passage summaries are from Biblehub.com by Jay Smith, with permission. Scripture comes from LOGOS software under license.
Quote- Augustine of Hippo (aw-GUST-in Latin: Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings influenced the development of Western philosophy and Western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers. His many important works include The City of God, On Christian Doctrine, and Confessions.
According to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine "established anew the ancient Faith". Believing the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, he helped formulate the doctrine of original sin and made significant contributions to the development of just war theory. When the Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine imagined the Church as a spiritual City of God, distinct from the material Earthly City. The segment of the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustine's On the Trinity.
Passage-The book of 1st Peter is a General Epistle (Apostolic Letter). It was written to all believers in general. The author is Peter who wrote it about 60 A.D. The key personalities are the Apostle Peter, Silas, and Mark. Its purpose was to encourage suffering Christians and to call them to personal holiness; Peter’s central focus is persecution.
Opening Statement
We’ve been taught to avoid religion and politics in polite conversation. That doesn’t mean we never talk about Jesus. It means we only talk about our faith when someone asks us about it, but that means we have to know what we believe.
Ask: What does verse 15 mean when it says, “…always being ready to make a defense to everyone…”?
Point: Before we answer that, let’s look at several translations of that passage. Please read the following:
15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
1 Peter 3:15 (KJV 1900)
15Instead, regard Christ the Lord as holy in your hearts. Whenever anyone asks you to speak of your hope, be ready to defend it.
1 Peter 3:15 (CEB)
15but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)
15but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;
1 Peter 3:15 (NRSV)
Ask: Spend a moment looking over those passages above before moving on.
Point: Review the Greek definition for the word used for answer/reason/speak of/accounting. Please see the Definitions page.
Ask: We are called to answer or defend our “hope”. What is that hope that is in our hearts? What is hope?
Point: Hope is faith. Please read the following:
1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2For by it the men of old gained approval.
3By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
Hebrews 11:1–3 (NASB95)
Ask: Why do you think Peter wants us to be ready to defend or answer someone who asks us about our faith?
Point: Because each of us has a different reason behind our faith.
Ask: Why is it important to be able to explain my faith to someone else?
Point: The same reason it is important to include different gifts in the church. Please read the following:
7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
8Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.”
9(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
11And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
12for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
13until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
15but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
16from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:7–16 (NASB95)
Ask: What do different gifts making up the body of Christ, the church, have to do with us as individuals ensuring we each know how to explain and defend the reason for our faith?
Point: Because we each have strengths and weaknesses regarding sin that makes our reasons compelling to some people. Please read the following:
6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
7However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
8But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.
9But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
10For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols?
11For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.
12And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
13Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.
1 Corinthians 8:6–13 (NASB95)
Ask: How does verse 9 relate to being able to explain my faith to someone who asks me about it?
Point: The grace of Christ forgives and washes away all sins including those I will commit in the future. Please read the following:
5This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
6If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:5–9 (NASB95)
Ask: If God cleanses us from all unrighteousness why bother at all?
Point: Because we cannot serve God and Satan. Please read the following:
21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
22Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
23All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.
1 Corinthians 10:21–23 (NASB95)
Ask: If we are forgiven in this life and cleansed of all unrighteousness why can’t we just do whatever we want?
Point: Because those things only benefit us in this life but not the next whereas God’s ways benefit us both here and in heaven. Please read the following:
8for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
9It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.
10For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
1 Timothy 4:8–10 (NASB95)
Ask: If all sin is forgiven why even fight the temptation to overcome sin?
Point: Because Jesus said to and if we do, we are rewarded in heaven. Please read the following:
20‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
21‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”
Revelation 3:20–22 (NASB95)
Closing Statement
Why learn to explain what Jesus means to each of us? Why learn to answer serious questions about our personal faith? Because that roots us in scripture. In order to adequately explain why we believe in Jesus, we need to dig into God’s Word to form the foundation upon which Christians have constructed the building of their faith for centuries. The cornerstone of that faith structure is and has to be Jesus, and the knowledge of Him comes to us through the truth contained in the Bible. No other document can or should be the source of our faith but scripture. It is that anchor to which we tie our lives. Based on those words, our explanations then become a beacon, a light in the darkness for those it resonates with to find their way to Christ too.
Tasks for the Week
Task 1 Compare the four versions of verse 15 in the opening of today’s lesson and make a list of everything you find that is the same versus everything you find different between them.
Task 2 For those things that are the same, decide what you plan to do about that.
Task 3 For those things you find different, decide what you believe the intent is for you for that scripture.
Task 4 Contemplate and write down as much or as little as you are led to write about what your response will be when someone asks you about the reason for the hope that is in you.
Definitions
All definitions come from Dictionary.com
All Greek entries are from James Strong as listed in the LOGOS software attributed as WORDSearch 2020
15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
1 Peter 3:15 (KJV 1900)
Greek Strong’s Number: 627
Greek Word: ἀπολογία
Transliteration: apologia
Phonetic Pronunciation: ap-ol-og-ee’-ah
Root: from the same as <G626>
Cross Reference:
Part of Speech: n f
Vine’s Words: Answer, Defence
defence 3
answer 3
answer for (one’s) self 1
clearing of (one’s) self 1
From the same as <G626> (apologeomai); a plea (“apology”):- answer (for self), clearing of self, defence.
James Strong, “Ἀπολογία,” in Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
Greek Strong’s Number: 626
Greek Word: ἀπολογέομαι
Transliteration: apologeomai
Phonetic Pronunciation: ap-ol-og-eh’-om-ahee
Root: middle voice from a compound of <G575> and <G3056>
Cross Reference:
Part of Speech: v
Vine’s Words: Answer, Defence, Excuse
answer 3
answer for (one’s) self 3
make defence 1
excuse 1
excuse (one’s) self 1
speak for (one’s) self 1
Middle from a compound of <G575> (apo) and <G3056> (logos); to give an account (legal plea) of oneself, i.e. exculpate (self):- answer (for self), make defence, excuse (self), speak for self.